Dingle, the northernmost of three peninsulas along the southwest coast of Ireland, was annointed “the most beautiful place in the world” by National Geographic Traveler a few years ago. It had been recommended to me …
May 8, 2012
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Spring Days in Dingle, Ireland
Royal Treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)
(continued from a March 29 travel story) Mada’in Saleh: Desert Tombs On my fourth day in Saudi Arabia, our group took a military plane to visit Mada’in Saleh, a pre-Islamic archaeological site of an ancient …
April 23, 2012
Singing Cebu City, Philippines
Although it’s still debated which country invented karaoke (an abbreviated compound word meaning “empty orchestra” in Japanese), a Filipino was definitely the first to patent it in 1975. And in my brief Filipino travels, Cebu …
April 19, 2012
Speedboat to Battambang
Last rainy season, after a few days touring the temples of Ankgor, I decided to visit the former French capital of northwestern Cambodia – Battambang. My guidebook explained that traveling to Battambang by speedboat was …
April 14, 2012
Bauer, Iowa: Sunset on Rural America
In order to describe Iowa, you have to start with the land. Its freshly overturned sod is as black as a starless night, and a handful of dirt is richer than any potting soil you …
April 7, 2012
Royal Treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Part 1)
Is it possible to have a strong connection to a place without ever having been there? Nearly every member of my family, other than myself, grew up in Saudi Arabia. My entire life I’ve heard …
March 29, 2012
Looking Back: Day Trip up the Khyber Pass, 1998
There is a 19th-century Protestant church at the south end of Bombay’s Colaba Causeway. It has a disproportionately tall steeple, and before the skyline of Nariman Point was developed, it was the most prominent landmark …
New Vrindaban Community, West Virginia
You might not expect a Hare Krishna temple in the hills of West Virginia, but the New Vrindaban community has been an active spiritual retreat since 1968. I recently took a road trip with my …
March 8, 2012
At the World’s End: Chernobyl and Prypiat
I was two years old and living in the U.K. when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, on April 26, 1986. Naturally, I have no memory of the event, but my mother assures me that …
March 5, 2012
Traveling in Style: A Personal Train through Transylvania
“The painfully slow Personal trains should be avoided as a rule, unless you’re heading for some tiny destination.” – The Rough Guide to Romania “These trains are achingly slow.” – Lonely Planet: Eastern Europe I …
January 24, 2012
Havana with my Father: “Por la Izquierda”
As usual, my father disappeared while I was still sleeping. For a second, I wondered what a 65-year-old tourist would be doing alone in the middle of Havana at 8 in the morning. Then I …
January 5, 2012